Amebel Wind up doll (Part 3)
by Hetaliawall
Summary: In a new world full of bronze mechanical dolls and air blimps that fly through the sky what will Alfred do when Natalia shows up in his new life, with a life threatening heart condition? (Steampunk AU)
1. Chapter 1

Amebel wind up doll

She was beautiful, a work of art really. Alfred watched her graceful movements completely transfixed as she twirled and moved across the stage. The air seemed to part around her, light seemed to follow her wherever she went, and not even her cold violet eyes could change that. Alfred is startled out of his transfixion by the sound of roaring applause as he stands up with the others in the crowd in a standing ovation. The ballerina studied the crowd with a vacant look upon her face as she fell into a graceful curtsy. Her white platinum hair was held up in a high bun, her white tutu, pale skin and the spotlight being shined on her all worked together to give her the impression of being an angel.

Alfred cheered along with the upper class as he watched his creations join the single human ballerina on stage as they also fell into a bow, like they were programmed to. The mechanical wind up ballerinas made soft creaking noises as they moved, their gears gleaming in the lights of the stage. They were made of silver so they would shine in the lights of a stage, with painted on faces to at least _seem_ human, even though everyone knew that they were dolls. Even if you did not a quick check of their backs would show their wind up mechanism, exposing their true identities.

Finally they left the stage, along with the human girl who suddenly looked a bit wobbly, and Alfred joined the other men, donning his top hat and goggles. He walked outside and looked up at the familiar New York skyline as it was filled with electric lights and air blimps moving through the air, the sound of them almost like buzzing bees. The year was nineteen sixteen and more inventions were being made every day in glistening bronze, gold and silver. This was the world Alfred lived in, and it was the one that he had helped create. Alfred thinks back on his life with a content smile as he walks down the street back to his apartment, or rather the building that housed his lab.

If any common person had heard the name Alfred F. Jones four years ago, or even three, they would have just scratched their heads and inquired as to who he was. That was no longer the case as now the young scientist was a household name. Known for his wind up doll ballerinas, private transporters, a stove that you wound up, and even a new type of air blimp that moved through the air even faster and made much less noise than its previous design, as anyone could see the man was going places, and the only question was who would be going to the top with him. Yes surely this man was a man of intelligence and prestige.

"ALFRED F JONES WAKE UP THIS INSTANT."

Alfred started awake his glasses hanging off of his head and drool forming a pool on his table as he looked around his lab for the source of the interloper on his precious sleep.

"Must I remind you that you have a meeting this morning with the board? Or perhaps your forgot with all your going about in the city! Where were you this time?"

Alfred sighs looking at Arthur, his British butler, which he had built himself. Unfortunately when he decided to give him character he did not anticipate the headache that he would receive from it. Oh well at least he manages to keep his lab in order…. Mostly.

"Sorry Iggy, I just feel asleep again. You know going over the blueprints… Like you suggested. And don't get all riled up; your gears are going to lock up again. I was just at the ballet"

Arthur gives him a critical look before brushing aside pens, wadded up bits of paper and random gears to put down the tray of breakfast which was a horribly burnt… _something_ , and coffee.

"Yes well you had better hurry and eat your breakfast or else you will be late. And do clean up in here, I don't know what's junk and what's not!"

He surveyed the lab with a critical glowing green eye, noting the bubbling cylinders full of chemicals, the whirling of another invention (this time a small cat with red glowing eyes… He would have to deal with that one later), half eaten food everywhere and to top it all off boxes were strewn about where anyone could trip on them. Namely Alfred.

"Mr. Jones when was the last time you slept in a proper bed? Or eaten something other than… Oh what is it that you call them?"

Alfred looked up wearily as he slyly drops the burned thing into a trashcan where it was incinerated. Alfred never had never been able to figure out how to fix Arthurs cooking mechanism; it seemed to be stuck on bland, burned and poisonous.

"I don't know… And I call them hamburgers!

Arthur sighs and looks Alfred in the eyes, his own robotic green eyes glowing as he scans him checking his vitals.

"Mr. Jones how many times must I remind you? You're not one of your inventions; you can't just be wound up and be ready to go! You need a proper rest. You're lucky that you seem to somehow be in perfect health."

Alfred sighs heavily as he rubs his eyes. Sometimes it seemed that his butler was his mother.

"Don't worry Arthur as soon as I get my next idea approved then I will sleep in my bed ok? And I will even eat a salad if that makes you happy."  
Arthur nods his gears whirling contently as he begins to clean up some of the lab, wiping up chemicals harmlessly with a gloved hand.

"Good, and do something about that infernal cat! It's so hyper I swear it must be a pup."

Alfred laughs lightly bouncing up from his seat and grabbing the cat as it wiggled around in his arms making angry puffs of steam.

"Don't worry, I've got it handled! I'm going to keep it and name it Alpha cat! You know as in "first", since I'm going to be making a whole line of these cats!"

Arthur sighs watching the cat with distaste, and wincing at Alfred's outburst. He was going to have to start making him take less sugar in his coffee.

"Just keep it away from my kitchen; I need room to work in there."

As Alfred watches Arthur leave to go back to his baking he sighs looking at the now not moving machine.

"Ok your new mission is to go into his kitchen as often as possible ok?"

When he didn't get a response he looked into the cats eyes and noticed that they were no longer glowing and sighed with annoyance. He winds the cat back up again and it studied him, steam puffing out even more in annoyance.

"Sorry about that buddy, I'll look into getting you a longer wind up gear, and then we won't have to wind you up as often. How does that sound?"

The cat looked at him still annoyed, almost as if with contempt. As the cat was painfully aware, if he stayed unwounded for too long he would be stuck like that and Alfred would have to disassemble him and rebuild him. This was not a very pleasant experience for either of them. The cat always ended up losing some of its memory and had once forgotten how to walk properly. Alfred couldn't count the times the cat had run into a wall.

"Errr and how about a wind up rat for you to play with?"

At this the cat brightened up immensely flicking its tail with sharp clicks hanging in the air.

"I thought you would like that! Now remember your mission!"

The cat nods determined and hops out of Alfred's arms to go spread chaos in Arthur's kitchen. Alfred stands there and admires his handy work on the cat. It was completely bronze and without any fur, (He had yet to find a suitable fabric), and his gears all moved smooth only making a soft sound when he moved, or when very excited. Arthur on the other hand looked nearly human if it was not for his glowing eyes, and the giant wind up gear sticking out of his back. But other than that he looked completely human. And if the meeting today went according to plan, then he would be one step closer to an actual human machine hybrid.

"Ahhhh the meeting!"

Alfred ran out of his lab only just catching his lab coat and top hat on his way out the door, Arthur calling out after him, something about "I told you!" Alfred tuned him out with ease and made his way to the street hailing a carriage. The taxi driver pulled over his bronze horses gleaming in the sun making little puffs of steam. Alfred's ride to the office was spent anxiously pouring over his blueprints making sure that he had his speech together, he couldn't seem crazy, which was a distinct possibility. This was a crazy plan after all.

Alfred arrived at the office and paid the taxi driver before staring up at the imposing building, the buzzing of his air blimps suddenly all too loud. He takes a moment to compose himself patting down his wild and unruly hair, sighing as one curl stood up stubbornly. He used his top hat to hide it and proceeded to walk inside the building, giving himself the usual pep talk.

"You can do this just act mature, act mature, act ma- Is that food?"

Alfred's stomach grumbled in rebellion at the sight of a table full of pastries for the office workers, reminding him of his failed breakfast as Alfred sneakily slides over to the table of pastry's and cookies. He snags an apple turnover and a cookie for later, hiding it in his lab coat pocket. He hurries up to the stairs with his stolen treats and walks up quickly as he munches on the pastry. ' _Someone should invent moving stairs….hmm.'_ Alfred had no more time to mull over this new idea as he soon arrived at the top and stood in front of the office room.

Taking a deep breath he steps inside giving all the stuffy looking business men a wide grin.

"Hello everyone! How's it going?"

A few of the men smile slightly at him and wave, being used to Alfred's personality by now. Most however… Were not used to it, so to say. Alfred sighs, but not one to be discouraged he moves right on with his speech. He takes off his top hat and winces inwardly at his curl, but had to move right along.

"Well I won't bore you all with a long speech about why you should give me a loan for my invention, and instead I will let the invention do the talking itself. And here it is gentlemen.'

Alfred unrolled his blueprints and put them up on the wall grinning broadly at the confused looks from the investors.

"But… That's just another one of your animatronics!" A man from the back of the room protested, and all the other men muttered their agreement starting to look annoyed. This was perfect for dramatic effect.

"Yes, indeed it does look like a human machine…. Because it is one. This friends, is the perfect hybrid of a human and a machine."

Some investors stared at the blueprints again to check Alfred's words and they looked back at him amazed and in disbelief. Surely this couldn't be possible?

"Yes, this is a _cyborg_ if you will. A machine with the mind and memories of a human, but with this wind up gear they can live indefinitely. "

Alfred stares out at the crowd pleased with his work as they all stood silent, dumfounded. That is until the main boss looked up a scowl set on his wrinkled face.  
'I don't like it."

Alfred looks up stunned out of his joy and pride.

"W-What?"

The man sighs his scowl deepening.

"I don't like it, you're playing with things you don't understand boy! You can't play God and expect that there won't be any repercussions from it! Have you even considered the effects of this? What if an evil men were to get his hands on this and made himself immortal? Then what would people do?"

Alfred blinks and flounders for a response to this attack on his logic.

"Oh well, si-"

"No, now listen have you even gotten a volunteer for this project? Someone willing to be made into a… _cyborg_?"

The other investor's turned to Alfred waiting; their gazes making his confidence shrivel up.

"N-no sir…. I haven't found a volunteer...Yet! My old…"

He trailed off felling his ideas shatter under the unwavering glare of the business men.

"You haven't even found a willing volunteer yet?"

Alfred pales slightly nervously touching his top hat beside him.

"Well no…. But I've done so many projects before that have worked please just give me a chance!"

The main boss sighs cracking his knuckles, the rings on his fingers gleaming.

"I'm _sorry_ Alfred but we can really only trust you with…. Robotic animals and ballerinas, not with human lives. You have a brilliant young mind, but that's just the problem. You're still too young and… childish. Now leave, we have other affairs to tend to."

Alfred looks at all the faces in the room searching for anyone who would speak up for him, but found no one. He turned on his heel and left, disappointment tugging at his heart as the business men went back to their plans.

" _I'm sorry"_ my butt, he didn't sound sorry at all!"

Alfred sighs heavily storming out of the stairwell, and for good measure he took another pastry from the food table. He steps outside and looks across the street at the hospital shivering slightly.

Him, childish?! He knew that he could be sometimes but didn't he deserve to be childish once in a while? Alfred sighs and tries to bury his disappointment deep within him.

As he was walking away munching on a muffin he noticed a flash of white platinum hair coming out of the hospital across the street. The woman was walking alone and with a determined step towards the park in the middle of the city her head held high. He immediately recognized her from the ballet and in desperate need of talking to someone, anyone, he quickly walks up to her side.

"H-hey… I saw your performance yesterday, you were great!"  
The woman turned around with a cold look in her violet eyes. Alfred stared into those eyes seeing a familiarity in them, he felt like he had seen that cold glare before.

"Good. Because that was my last performance."

Alfred blinked stunned and then looks at her pale face, and how her eyes kept on glancing back to the hospital. What he had taken for stage makeup the other night he could see now was actually a sickly complexion. She was bundled up in a large coat that fell over her dark blue dress with ruffles and a bustle skirt as was the fashion. Something from England as Arthur was fond of informing him.

"O-oh your sick aren't you? If it makes you feel better I just failed at my job...Anyway what's your name?"

The woman raised an eyebrow adjusting her coat so that it was more snugly fit as she studies him.

"My name is Natalia, and no that does not make me feel better. As you have already pointed out I am sick."

She turns to leave but Alfred knew he had to help her; _something_ was tugging him to her. Besides, if he couldn't help the world with his cyborgs he could at least help one person.

"Hey maybe I can help! I'm an inventor after all; maybe I can whip up something to help you! I was the one who made those wind up dolls that were on stage with you last night."

Natalia stiffens and turns around looking at him with distrustful eyes.

"No one in that hospital could help me, what makes you think that you can?"

Alfred grins at her undeterred by her cold gaze.

"I'm much more creative than those stuffy guys in the hospital! So what's the issue?"

Natalia regards him some more but sighs softly putting a small delicate hand over her heart.

"My heart is too weak to keep on pumping… They do not know what is exactly wrong and they say that they do not have the technology to fix it yet."

Alfred blinks stunned by this news, he wasn't a doctor and what did he know about hearts? However… He had to try.

"Huh… a heart issue? Well….. Hey, this is good! I can't do anything about a disease because I can't make up a new drug, but I can do something about a heart! After all it's kind of like a machine right? It's just a pump, and I can handle pumps! Natalia I swear I will fix your heart!"

Natalia blinks a bit confused by his sudden enthusiasm, here was a man that she had just met and he was already promising to save her life.

"How will you do that?"

Alfred blinks and suddenly gets an idea pulling out some blueprints from his pocket.

"We can build you a new mechanical heart! It will be made out of bronze, it can function as a normal heart…."Alfred continues in his rant making furious scribbles and sketches on his blueprints muttering a bit to himself as he goes. He finally holds up the blueprints of a mechanical heart, one with a watch in the middle of it.

"Ok so what do you think? Oh and don't be intimidated by the watch thing, that's just there so that it makes a ticking noise. You know just in case you pass out or something and someone needs to know that you're alive."

Natalia looks over it with a critical eye before looking back up at him

"Why?"

Alfred blinks a bit stunned.

"What do you mean why? I mean you want people to know that you're alive right?"

"I mean why are you doing this for me?"

Alfred silently folds up the blueprints and tucks them away in his shirt pocket where they would be safe. To be honest he didn't really know why he wanted to do this, no why he _had_ to do this. Sure he wanted to help at least one person, but it ran deeper than that, and even he did not know it. However he had to come up with some answer, after all she might think he was crazy if he did not.

"Oh well uhh… You see I just got my new invention rejected…So if I do this for you it will prove that I can blend humans and machines!"

He looks up at her excited but only got a blank look back. He quickly explained what had happened to him that morning and his invention ideas. After a few minutes Natalia finally speaks.  
"Why would they not approve you? This is a…. Noble idea."

Alfred looks at her surprised once again; this seemed to be a trend for him this morning.

"You really think it's a good idea? You don't think I'm messing with things I shouldn't?"

Natalia shrugs giving him a blank look, her eyes trailed up to the tall building that Alfred had walked out of and she seemed to glare right up to the top of it.

"I don't see why not, we already have those machines of yours walking among us, why not use that power to help ourselves? But tell me, what made you think of doing that? What made you want to build a cyborg?"

Alfred blinks and looks down taking off his top hat that had some simple words written on its inner band in neat cursive.

"To Alfred, From Matthew."

"Oh well…About that.. It was my brother you see? He was always sick and nothing the people at the hospital could do would help, they said his immune system was beyond repair. I used to make toys to keep him entertained while he was at the hospital. He always encouraged my crazy inventions; he even bought me this hat saying that I needed to look professional if I was going to sell my blueprints. He…. Died a few years ago, it was pneumonia. "

Natalia looks at Alfred her purple eyes softening just slightly.

"I am sorry, that must have been awful for you to go through."

Alfred sighs placing the top hat back on his head and adjusting it so that his curl would not peek through.  
"Yeah well… that's why I wanted so badly to make a human machine hybrid so that people wouldn't die of things like that anymore. I just wish that I had made it in time for him, he was supposed to be my volunteer."

Alfred eyes gazed down at the ground avoiding her eyes. That story was always hard for him to tell, it was his worst failure. Even Arthur was supposed to be for Matthew, someone to help him out but even he didn't get to see Matthew. Alfred was about to excuse himself from her when Natalia takes his hands in her own delicate ones.

"…..Don't you need to work on my heart?"

She slides her hands out of his seemingly having reached her limit of interaction. Her obvious plan to move him away from that topic had worked however as now Alfred was focusing on the heart, and ideas were running wild in his mind.

"Really? You'll let me work on your heart?"

"Da of course."

"Great! Thank you so much! Ok you just go home and rest easy and in a few weeks I will have you a new heart!"

Natalia sighs looking away angrily, once again catching Alfred off guard.

"I can't do that. I either have to go back to my country, or live on the streets here. The ballet is a cruel field and once they heard of my heart condition I was kicked out."

Alfred looks at her his head tilted in confusion; surely they couldn't be _that_ cruel.

"They kicked you out? Already?"

"Yes, I collapsed last night after the performance. My boss brought me to the hospital last night and that was when they found my condition. Once they heard that I could never dance again I was 'kicked out' as you say."

Alfred takes off his top hat scratching his head perplexed by this new information. Although he really shouldn't be that surprised, people could be cruel. Oh well, his brother always did say that he was an optimist.

"Oh well… you can stay with me. After all I live alone in a big apartment! I have a really nice guest room too; I think you would like it. It has a great view, from that window you can look out and watch the air blimps as they cross over to the Ellis Air Station from the other countries!"

Natalia seems to consider this and nods slowly.

"Alright, I will stay with you… Thank you."


	2. Chapter 2

Amebel wind up doll 2

Alfred chatted with Natalia on the way back to his apartment, talking mostly about his inventions which she seemed to have an interest in. Well he chatted; she just nodded whenever necessary to prove that she was listening. Alfred was discussing his cat Alpha when Natalia suddenly stops in front of a hotel with rich people milling in and out of the doors.

"This is the hotel that I was staying at; I just need to grab a few things before we go to your apartment.

Alfred nods smiling at her broadly as he watches the rich people go by.

"Do you need any help? I mean with your heart should you carry anything heavy?"

Alfred smiles at her, Arthur would be proud of him right now since he was the one who insisted on giving Alfred "gentleman" lessons.

"No, I will be fine. It is not many things so I will not require your assistance."

Alfred blinks and sits down a bit deflated as he watched her turn around and goes into the hotel. He sighs heavily and decides to entertain himself by looking at people's clothes as they passed by. Honestly he would never understand fashion in New York; it was a mash up of many different cultures none of which he understood. There were corsets from France for the ladies, top hats for the men from England, and of course gears on everything that gears could possibly be attached to. He quickly gets bored with fashion and moves onto counting the interesting people that he saw, something he and his brother used to do at the hospital.

When Natalia finally returned Alfred had already counted two Italian men with canes that acted as a gun in case of self-defense (probably the mafia), four air blimp pilots rushing on their way to work their ear flaps flapping in their hurry and finally several kids with wind-up toys. All in all it was a good way to waste time.

"So you've got everything right?"

Natalia nods holding a small traveling bag and nothing else.

"Yes I have everything.'

Alfred eyes her small bag but says nothing about it, after all if she packed light that was better anyway. He leads her to his apartment and helps her take her heavy coat off (like a proper gentleman as Arthur would say). When she turns around he could truly appreciate her dress, a blue ruffled dress with slits in the front revealing black ruffles underneath. The sleeves were long and a black bow at the neck along with a small silver locket finished the look. The overall effect was to give her the appearance of an innocent, doll like woman. Or even an angel.

"What are you staring at?"

Her sharp voice cuts through Alfred's thoughts and he smiles nervously taking off his own lab coat and top hat before placing them up on the coat rack beside hers.

"Oh uh it's just, I like your dress!"

Natalia raises an eyebrow as Arthur peeks his head around the corner "slyly" spying on them.

"I did not know that you have an interest in fashion."

Her eyes survey Alfred simple white shirt, black pants and black suspenders.

"Oh well uhhh….. Hey Arthur! This is Natalia, she'll be staying with us as I try and make her a new heart."

Arthur sighs at Alfred as he walks over to Natalia and takes her bag like the gentleman butler he was programmed to be.

"Welcome love, would you like a cuppa?"

Natalia looks over at Alfred for an explanation as she tries to get her bag back from the determined Arthur.

"Oh this is Arthur my wind up butler doll, and he's British. So he just asked you if you want some tea. Also ignore his attitude he's just fussy because I'm starting a new invention now."

Arthur sniffs indignantly keeping the bag out of Natalia's reach. His "gentleman" mode must be overworking right now.

"This wind up 'doll' can hear you, and please do let me take your bag miss, it's in my programming."

Natalia sighs heavily letting go of the bag as Alfred whispers to her keeping an eye on Arthur.  
"It's easier to just let him Natalia, or else his gears will lock up and he'll be grumpy for days afterwards. Also he's touchy about being called a doll."

Natalia sighs folding her arms as she looks up at Arthur.

"Fine."

Arthur nods satisfied as Natalia relinquishes her grip on the bag. He bows to her and carried the bag up the stairs to the guest bedroom.

"Thanks for that, Arthur is a pain to repair when his gears lock up. But hey he makes coffee…. And he attempts to make food, which reminds me _never_ eat his food."

Natalia nods looking around the neat apartment, her eyes showed slight surprise. She apparently had not expected for his house to be so neat, but then again the butler did explain that. Her inspection was harshly interrupted by a bronze cat launching itself at her as Alfred looked on in horror.

"Ah! Alpha! She's not an intruder! Down cat!"

The cat studied Natalia with his red glowing eyes as it clings to her and immediately begins to purr contently snuggling up to her even as she tried to get him off of her.

"Alfred get your cat off…"

Alfred chuckles lightly taking the cat off of her even as it puffs steam angrily, mewing in sharp clicks.

"Sorry about that, do you not like cats?"

Natalia sighs brushing down her dress as she eyed the cat which was still straining to be with her..

"Nyet that is not it, but I still do not appreciate being leaped upon."

"Oh yeah well he does that sometimes, he's just very excited to see a new person here… I uh… Haven't had very many visitors lately…. Anyway let's go up to my lab and I can take a look at your heart!"

Natalia nods and walks up the stairs with him briskly; not allowing her breath to hitch like it wanted desperately to. Alfred notices this and takes her arm lightly, and helped her up the rest of the stairs even though her eyes turned cold towards him.

"…. Thank you."

"No problem! You just go over there, sit down and rest; I'll get the x-ray goggles."

Natalia nods and holds her head high as she picks her way through the messy lab and sits down in the only uncluttered chair to catch her breath. Alfred in the meantime was dashing around the lab pulling boxes out and rummaging through them before moving onto the next one until he found what he needed.

"Ah ha here they are!"

He walks over to Belarus who was sitting stiffly for him as he slides the goggles on. They make whirling clicks as they zoom in and out, adjusting to the x-ray setting. Alfred adjusted the goggles peering inside of her until he finds her heart and examines it, information popping up and scrolling along the sides of the green tinted goggles.

"Well…. Huh… It says here that your heart is recovering from an old injury; it almost looks like you got hit or stabbed or something like that! What happened to you?"

Natalia sighs as Alfred looks up at her, pushing the googles up on his head so that he would not be looking into her skull.

"That is the mystery, which is why they cannot treat me. I have never been injured like that in my entire life. However the doctors think it might just be built up tissue perhaps…"

Alfred thinks for a moment rubbing his temples. This was much harder than making an unruly robotic cat.

"Ok… So I'm going to have to do some research and then I can figure out how the best way to replace your heart will be, but I'm thinking that my original plan of an entirely new heart will be our only option."

Natalia nods with a sigh as she stands up briskly.

"That will be fine, thank you Alfred."

Alfred nods tossing the goggles across the room and smiles proudly as he hears the dull clink of them falling into a cabinet.

"As long as you don't get cold feet we will be fine! Now come on I want to show you your room!"

He grabs her by the elbow and leads her into the guest bedroom where Arthur was opening the windows to let out years of dust. Alfred coughs harshly and notices Natalia doing the same.

"Ah sorry about that! It's been years since this room has been used….Natalia? You ok?"

Natalia was coughing heavily and gasping for breath as the dust blew into her face.

"Ah! Arthur help me out here!"

Arthur nods quickly and together they lead her to the open window where a breeze was blowing off of the Hudson River. Natalia crinkles her nose at the smell of the polluted river but regardless she breathed deeply letting her lungs calm down and her heart rest after the attack. Alfred and Arthur look at her concerned as she finally breaths normally.

"Are you ok Natalia? Do you need anything?"

Natalia shakes her head looking out the window and avoiding their eyes.

"No I am fine. Leave so I can unpack… ."

Alfred was about to protest but Arthur cuts him a look and he silently follows him out of the door and to the kitchen. Arthur begins on some tea and tea cookies as Alfred flops into a chair beside the table, leaning over it dejectedly. It was Arthur who finally broke the silence.

"She seems to be the proud sort, don't let it bother you Alfred."

Alfred sighs looking up at him as he leans over the table, looking for the entire world like a drunken man.

"I know but that's not why I'm upset."

"Well what is it then?"

Arthur turns to the stove as black smoke begins to pours out of it and he stops the fire with a practiced hand.  
"I don't know Iggy… It's just that when I first saw her I got this weird feeling. You know like I've seen her before, or like we… Were destined to meet. Not to mention I pay attention to every detail about her! I even noticed her dress! And I don't even care about fashion!"

Arthur turns around and eyes Alfred rumpled white shirt that wasn't even buttoned up all the way.

"No one could tell…."

Alfred sighs heavily hitting his head on the table in exasperation as Arthur started on some tea.

"Iggy this is serious! I think I'm sick!"

Arthur sighs folding his arms ignoring the still smoking oven.

"Do stop being a dramatic twat. And sit up properly."

Alfred groans and does as asked. Arthur nods content and turned to the whistling kettle.

"Alfred I honestly don't understand how you can be so intelligent and yet still be a ninny. You're in love!"

Alfred blinks and looks up at Arthur as he sets a cup of tea in front of him.

"What? Me? But… I mean… we just met!"

Arthur shrugs sitting down as the oven blows out more black smoke.

"Love works in strange ways Alfred, perhaps you two are just meant to be."

Alfred looks over stunned at the usually "no romance, no nonsense" butler.

"Seriously? You believe that stuff? I mean… I believe in that stuff but I didn't think that you would. Oh and I think the oven is on fire again."

Arthur turns around and calmly walks over to the oven. He grabs bucket of water that sat beside the oven on standby and opens the oven door quickly dousing the flames until they were gone.

"I believe what you programmed me to believe Alfred, and in case you forgot you equipped me with a love capacity. Therefore I at least know the general idea of love."

Alfred looks up at Arthur sighing, he had forgotten about that since it was a failure. Arthur only knew of the concept of love but he could not feel it, only a sense of admiration or respect to someone.

"Yeah… Well don't worry that love piece will kick in one day ok? Then you can feel love, I mean hey your already feeling content right?"

Arthur nods as he pulls out the tray of burnt, yet soggy, scones and dumps them into the wastebasket where they instantly turned into ash.

"Yes Alfred and I suppose that is enough for me. I don't have any use for love; it would only be cruel to fall in love with someone only to have them reject you for being a 'doll'."

Alfred looks down remembering his words from earlier and a flush of shame glowed on his face. He never really thought about what it would be like to know you are not human, and yet to have almost all the emotions of a human.

"Oh... Arthur… I'm sorry about earlier…"

Arthur looks over at Alfred regretful face and sighs softly pushing his tea closer to him, deciding to take pity on him before he could start beating himself up about it.

"Stop with that mopey face and bring some tea to our new guest."

Alfred gives him a weak smile and nods taking the tea cup carefully. Arthur was comforting in his strange British way.

Alfred heads up the stairs taking slow steps that were unusual to him considering how he usually just bounded his way up the stairs. He finally makes it to the guest room and knocks on the door lightly.

"Natalia? I've got tea for you…"

Upon hearing no response he knocks again a little worried. He hears nothing again and quickly opens the door dashing in. He looks at the floor first in case she had collapsed but soon looks up from the empty floor and sees Natalia sitting in the window seat looking intently out the window and up at the Elias Air Station.

Alfred moves over and sets the tea down gently beside her and looks up with her. She seemed to not even know that he was beside her as she gazed up at the air blimps that were coming and going from the station. The station itself was a bronze hover craft floating in the air allowing air blimps to dock there and for immigrants to be checked without ever having to set a foot in America first. Natalia looked up there almost longingly still not noticing him and Alfred steps out of the room racing up to his lab.

He comes back down with the x-ray goggles after a few minutes of searching and goes back into her room. Just as he expected she was still gazing out the window as her eyes searched the air blimps even though it would be impossible to see anything from that distance. That is unless they had some help.

"Hey uh... You know I fixed these goggles and so they're not just for x-rays, they also act as binoculars..."

Natalia finally tears herself away from the window and looks back at him as he places the goggles into her unsuspecting hand.

"What makes you think I need them?"

Alfred shrugs giving her a goofy grin even as she stares back with a guarded glare.

"Well unless you find staring at the Air Station all that interesting then I would say that you are looking for something. So what are you looking for?"

Natalia shakes her head turning away from him but her hand gripped around the goggles tightly, as I afraid to lose them.

"I only find the blimps interesting that is all."

Alfred fixes her with an incredulous face but shrugs. She had her secrets and he had his very few secrets.

"Alright whatever you say but those should help regardless."

As Alfred turns to leave her room he catches her placing the goggles on her head out of the corner of his eye.


	3. Chapter 3

Amebel windup doll 3

After that day the Jones household settled into a simple routine. Everyday Natalia would join Alfred in the dining hall for breakfast much to Arthurs delight. For once he did not have to clean up breakfast foods in the lab since Alfred was finally sitting at a _proper_ table.

After that Natalia and Alfred would go for a walk and get their real breakfast at a bakery that was not too far from his house. Alfred would try to talk to her but Natalia was always too cautious too admit her true feelings. The only thing she would admit to was that she missed the ballet. So every day they would go watch the ballerinas practice courtesy of Alfred's VIP pass to the theater. After that they would head back to his house and she would go up to his room and he would go to his lab and work on her heart. After lunch Alfred would join her in watching the Air Station. She never really talked instead she would just acknowledge his presence with a nod or she would move over and let him sit beside her on the window seat. And every day she would be wearing the goggles.

The more time he spent with her the more his feelings grew and unless he was going crazy she was beginning to feel the same. She began to join him in the lab sometimes, never talking but she would hand him tools he needed or help him get the cat out of the way. She spoke softer to him, didn't glare as much and even complimented him on the cat. It seemed like even that cat was in love with her by the way it followed her around everywhere. However he would have to get in line because Alfred was already falling for her.

One day as Alfred was watching the blimps with her she suddenly spoke. Her voice was low and in a monotone as if she thought that if she spoke with emotion then her whole mask of a cold calm would come crumbling off.

"I am searching for my family."

Alfred turns to her amazed and smiles at her happy to finally hear something about her life for once. This must have been why she accepted his offer of the room.

"Really? Well why didn't you say that before! We can go up to the Air Station and ask if they had been through yet!"

Natalia looks at him her eyebrows raised. Her face was pale and even sicklier looking than usual.

"I cannot make it up there, which is why I have never gone. These morning walks take all of my energy out of me. And they are just a single block. Regardless of if I could make it up there, it would be foolish. I do not even know if my family is coming."

Alfred sighs and rubs the back of his head as he thinks of that morning. She had seemed a bit more winded than usual when they came back but Alfred hadn't noticed in his rush to get back up to the lab.

"Oh well… I can rent a carriage! And besides you watch the blimps every day, which must mean you have some faith that they will come right?"

Natalia turns away from him and stares as a new glistening silver blimp came into the station.

"I have a fool's blind faith. That is all."

Alfred smiles at her and chuckles lightly making her whip her head around to face him.

"What are you laughing about?"

Alfred chuckles more despite her glare and he begins to wipe off his glasses carefully. He puts them back on and smiles widely at her.

"You are so wrong! That's what is so funny! Look it might be blind faith, but that doesn't matter. You trust your family and there is no shame in that. So you're not being a fool."

Natalia regards him with a soft glare as she inspected him for any signs of lying, or mockery. Finding none she lets her glare melt off of her face and sighs looking at him as if he was an innocent fool.

"I am a fool; I let you do this to me."

Alfred looks up at her and was about to ask what that exactly was when he was cut off by her kiss. His cheeks burnt like a brand and he stood up quickly looking at her calm face.

"I-I've got to go… L-lab sciency stuff…."

With that he runs out of the room and into the kitchen disrupting Arthur in his newest baking expedition.

"IGGGY!"

Arthur jolted nearly dropping his pan of cookies, or biscuits as he would call them.

"For heaven's sake don't scare me like that Alfred! Now sit down what is wrong? Your face is red; you look like a bloody rose!"

Alfred sits down and sighs calming down until his face stopped burning.

"Iggy she kissed me!"

Arthur raises an eyebrow as he sets the burned cookies down.

"That's it? That's why you came racing down here like there was a fire right behind you?"

Alfred sighs looking away sheepishly.

"Well it's just that... That doesn't happen often to me… A-and this time it was the girl who kissed _me!_ You know what that means?"

Alfred leaps up excited as Arthur stares at him with an exasperated expression knowing that he was about to be told the answer no matter what he said.

"What Alfred?"

Alfred grips Arthur's shoulders excited his face lit up in joy.

"It means she likes me!"

Arthur decides to humor Alfred and pretend that he hadn't notices her obvious liking for him.

"Oh well that really is a shock, I could never have figured that out from the way she actually joined you in your lab instead of running at the sight of it."

Alfred raised his eyebrows shocked a bit by the sarcasm.

"What I mean Alfred is that I have noticed her affections for you, I just didn't want to say anything. After all she had to figure her feelings out for herself first."

Alfred grins up at Arthur and takes a burnt cookie and eats it making the butler swell with pride.

"Yeah well I kind of wished you had said something so I wouldn't have been caught off guard like that."

Arthur looks at him his bushy eyebrows raised.

"Please tell me that you did not just run away leaving her right after you two kissed.'

Alfred blinks and rubs the back of his head sheepishly.

"Oh well uh…."

Arthur face palmed rubbing the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

"Alfred… Go back up there right now…"

Alfred nods hurriedly as he leaps up from his seat.

"Yeah I'm on it!"

Arthur shakes his head putting away the cookies which he now deemed eatable.

"Ninny."

Alfred raced back up the stairs his heart pounding as he tossed away the uneatable cookie. He couldn't believe that he had just left her like that! As he was mentally beating himself up he dashes into her room startling her out of gazing at the blimps.

"N-Nat!"

Natalia looks at him her face calm and her mask was back on again.

"My name is Natalia."

Alfred sighs heavily. He didn't know anything about girls but he did know that if you run out on them they would probably be a bit hurt. Or probably a lot.

"Look I like you! A-and I just ran out because you surprised me! I swear it wasn't because I didn't like you or didn't enjoy the kiss. T-that was really good."

Natalia raises an eyebrow and nods patting the place beside her.

"I believe you Alfred; I do not think you are capable of tricks."

Alfred shrugs giving her a grin as he sits down, he probably deserved that one. And besides it didn't seem like she would act like other women and give him the cold shoulder for days. He liked that about her.

Natalia turns to him and held up her silver locket. She takes a small calm breath and snapped it open showing him a picture of her with a large boy and another larger girl. Natalia looked like a preteen while her siblings looked like teens, maybe around the age of sixteen and standing in front of a snowman.

"This is my family that is my older brother Ivan and my older sister Yekaternia, I am the youngest in my family."

Alfred stared at the picture and for some reason he felt some contempt towards her brother, he didn't trust that smile. However of course he couldn't say that so instead he turns to her grinning happily.

"They look nice! Where was the picture taken?"

Natalia sighs snapping the locket shut with a sharp click.

"This was taken in our home Russia, that is the last time I saw them. We were very poor so my siblings decided to move to another country to find some more work. They never came back."

Alfred looks at her his smile gone as he rubs the back of his head sheepishly.

"Oh uh… Sorry about that. So you haven't seen them in a while then huh?"

Natalia raises an eyebrow and sighs nodding.

"Da that is what I said."

Alfred nods feeling his cheeks flush from embarrassment. The kiss must have been making him thinking groggily.

"Errrrr yeah…."

Natalia sighs and hands him the goggles.

"Just look through that for my family I need to do something."

Alfred nods happily giving her a salute, happy to have the chance to redeem himself.

"I'm on the job!"

Natalias POV

Natalia nods and exits the room going to his lab and searching through his files until she finds the paper she was looking for. She studies it intently and sighs softly shaking her head. She is startled by a sharp British voice ringing out across the lab behind her.

"What are you doing in here?"

Natalia whips around not even bothering to hide the paper in her hands. She knew when she had been caught. Her breath hitches slightly but she forced that down.

"I am doing this for Alfred."

Arthur looks at her and at the page in her hands.

"Is that the plans for your heart?"

Natalia nods gripping them tightly.

"Yes it is."

Arthur looks at her his eyebrows furred and he appeared to be getting angry.

"Well then why do you have them? Unhand them right now!"

Natalia shakes her head calmly and folds them up placing them in a slit that hid a pocket in her dress.

"No I can't."

Arthur looks at her steam coming out of his gears as they clicked in irritation.

"And why not?"

Natalia sighs looking at him in the eyes.

"Because I love him."

Arthur blinks caught off guard enough for the steam to stop coming out of his gears.

"What on earth are you talking about? I know that you love him, anyone can see that!"

Natalia sighs and looks at the door making sure that Alfred was not there. But she had faith that the loyal American would be in her room watching the air blimps as promised.

"Arthur how much do you think it will crush him when I die? He has already suffered the loss of his brother and he still wears that top hat everywhere he goes. And these plans, while I do believe that they will work, I also believe that I will die before he can get them working. He will believe that he was a failure and it would crush him. Tell me Arthur how long was it before he started to talk again after his brother's death? Before he did anything?"

Arthur sighs looking away from her unfaltering gaze.

"I was built before his brother's death. I was to be Matthews's assistant. But I never got the chance. He died and after that…"

Arthur sighs relaxing his still tenses hands that had been ready to fight.

"I think a part of Alfred believed that he himself was responsible for his brother's death. He was always going on about how he would be his hero and save him from the disease, and yet Matthew still died."

Natalia nods patting the papers that were safely tucked away in her dress.

"If these papers were to go missing and perhaps me along with them, then the blow would not be so severe. He would think I am a thief and so when the news of my death comes to him he will not be hurt."  
Arthur looks at her and sighs rubbing his temples.

"Your both ninnies the lot of you! No matter what happens Alfred will still mourn you. Even if you disappear he would still see the best in you and believe that you did it for him. That would cause him to search the streets of New York for you, and we can't have that. The best thing to do is to let Alfred continue on with your heart. That way even if you do… Die…. Then he will at least know that he tried."

Natalia sighs thinking over this new plan. Her instinct was to do the darker plan; one that she believed would leave Alfred in contempt of her. And therefore with no ability to love her, no way to be hurt by her passing. But perhaps that plan wouldn't work because he was too much in love with her. After some more thinking she begrudgingly agrees with the dolls logic and takes the papers out of their hiding spot and placed them back onto the table exactly the way she had found them before. With that she turned on her heels and leaves the lab going back to Alfred.


	4. Chapter 4

As the days passed after their confessions Natalia only got worse and worse.

She was now confined to her bed with Alpha always present beside her, guarding her against this strange monster that he couldn't see or bite. Alfred worked like a maniac on her heart late into the night, barely sleeping and barely eating, only stopping to visit Natalia and talk with her and try to get her to take her medication which she refused. He couldn't let another person he loved die. He just couldn't.

Arthurs POV

Arthur sighs walking up to the lab with a tray of food. He lets himself in not even bothering to knock anymore and sets the tray down by Alfred's hunched over form. He was welding some metal pieces together and didn't even seem to acknowledge his presence. Arthur glances over at the other tray of untouched food and frowns looking over at Alfred.

"Alfred…."

There was no response as Alfred wielded away.

"Alfred."

Still no response.

"ALFRED F JONES ACKOWLEDGE ME THIS INSTANST!"  
Alfred snaps his head up and looks at him wildly. His eyes had dark rings under them and he honestly looked terrible.  
"Alfred when was the last time you ate? Or slept? Or even bathed?"

Alfred blinks and shrugs tiredly looking like a member of the undead. Arthur scans him over and sighs as he reads the health effects that his maniac working was doing on him. He was sleep deprived, malnourished and dehydrated.

"Alright this has gone on long enough! For heaven's sake I can see you Alfred! Don't think I don't notice that you're barely able to sit up straight!"

Alfred looks up at him tiredly attempting to give him a grin.

"What do you mean? I'm fine!"

Arthur folds his arms and gives him an incredulous look.

"Alfred I just read your health stats. You need sleep; you need food and for the love of all that is good take a shower!"

Alfred looks up at him guarding Natalia's heart like a child about to get his toy taken away before bedtime.

"Arthur Natalia is dying! I _can't_ sleep now! Did you see her today? Her heart is beating fast and she was panting just from sitting up!"

He turned back to his heart only to have Arthur push him off of the chair and drag him down the hall.

"This is for your own good Alfred! You're not going to do her any good by ending up in the hospital from starvation! You _will_ sleep and then you _will_ eat. You know that Natalia would want this for you!"

Alfred sighs, not even putting up a fight anymore. His head was falling down as he starts to fall asleep even as he was dragged down the hall and to his room. Arthur sighs grumbling to himself as he drags Alfred to his bed and flops him down onto it.

"There you ninny."

Arthur took the heart out of Alfred's hands with some effort since Alfred's fingers were curled around it protectively. When Arthur finally wrenched it out he covers him with a blanket, sets the heart in the lab and goes to check on Natalia. The last time he had seen her she was watching the blimps as usual.

"Natalia?"

Hearing no response his brow furred and start to be concerned. She usually gave him a polite "come in", or she would at least send Alpha over to open the door. He goes inside wearily and stands still in horror at the empty bed, with the goggles placed neatly beside it on the table. His gears clicked and a panicked steam rose out of him. She was gone.

Arthur raced all over the house as fast as his sticking gears would allow him. She wasn't anywhere to be found and just as his panic was increasing he noticed the open door out of the corner of his eyes and a furious Alpha racing towards the door, only to be hit by the electrical field that kept him confined to the house each time. Arthur having no such issue raced out the door ignoring the cats howls of contempt.

He ran down the streets heading to where he knew she would be. She would be heading to the Air Station, and quickly if something had caught her eye enough to make her leave the bed. He scanned the streets close to the house and his worry increased the further he got without finding her heat signature in the crowd. Surely she couldn't have made it this far without collapsing.

And he was right.

After long minutes of racing down the streets he finally found her in an alleyway nearly halfway to the Air Station. She was on the pavement her pale face sickly with perspiration on her brow. Her breathing was ragged and racked by coughs. As Arthur rushed over and scanned her he could see her heart beating rapidly, nearly two hundred beats per minute. It was a wonder she had made it this far without her heart just giving up. Then again she was the most stubborn woman he knew.

"Don't worry love we'll get you back to the apartment."

Natalia looks up at him clutching her dress above her heart, and as Alfred scanned her other body functions he saw the other tell-tale signs of a heart attack starting.

"Take me back to Alfred….. Tell him… My family is here…"

Arthur nods and picks her up quickly rushing back to the apartment. He ignored people looks although he knew what they were thinking. Why was a _doll_ carrying away a beautiful woman? Shaking these thoughts out of his head he raced through the streets going as fast as his gears would allow him. He ran up through the still open door of the apartment startling Alpha who bounded after him right on his heels. He ran into Natalia's room and placed her down gently on the bed allowing Alpha to sit beside her on the bed before running to Alfred's room as fast as he could.

"Alfred wake up!"

Alfred slept on obliviously as he hugged a pillow tightly to him. Arthur walks over and yanks him out of bed.

"ALFRED WAKE UP NATALIA IS DYING."

Alfred's POV

Alfred jolted out of bed and immediately sprang to action running up the stairs his feet making a heavy thud sound that rang through the otherwise quiet house. He ran to Natalia's bedside and quickly grips her hand staring into her eyes. They were dimming and she didn't even talk.

"NAT! D-don't go! D-don't leave me here! N-not again!"

He looked around frantically and runs a panicked hand through his hair making it wild.

"What do I do? O-oh!"

He began to push on her chest right above her heart trying to get blood moving normally. As he pushes Natalia's skins got paler and her lips turned blue. Alfred's eyes widen and he pushes faster before tilting her head up carefully and breaths through her mouth. He pulls away and stands to catch his breath and watches in despair as her breathing stops altogether.

"IGGY HELP!"

Arthur ran up the steps carrying his communicator that he was using to call the hospital.

"I'm calling the hospital no-"

'NO! I-I we need to get her to my lab…. NOW!"

Arthur nods looking into his desperate eyes. They both knew that she wouldn't make it to the hospital.

"Ok… Let's hurry."

Alfred nods scooping her up in his arms and with the help of Arthur made it up to the lab and sets her down on the lab table. He turns to Arthur.

"Please leave…. I need to be alone. And I need your communicator."

Arthur blinks at this strange request and nods handing him the device before scooping up Alpha in his arms and going to the kitchen with him.

Alfred sighs and turns off the communicator before putting his gloves on determinedly and beginning his work.

Arthurs POV

Arthur watches the clock as it slowly ticked by. The hours seemed to drag by and by the time the sun began to rise there was no sound coming from upstairs. Arthur was naturally alarmed by this, having heard mechanical whirling all night. He stands up and along with Alpha he walked cautiously up the stairs and lightly knocked on the lab door. After hearing no response he walked in and sees Alfred in a pitiful stance. He was sobbing and burying his face in his hands as he stands over Natalia's body. She was covered with a sheet but Arthur could see the bumps and rises of screws, bolts and gears.

"I've failed Iggy… I'm missing the wind up mechanism… And if I don't put it in her soon then she will be past the point of no return… I don't know what to do…"

Alpha looks up and walks over rubbing against Alfred's leg until he looked down at him. The cat sat down on its hind end and holds its own mechanism up for Alfred to accept. Alfred smiles a weak watery smile and picks the cat up rubbing his bronze ears mournfully.

"Thanks buddy but yours won't work. It's too small; I need one that's a doll size, for a human."

Arthur looks at the sight of Alfred hugging a metal cat and knew that he would always be like this without Natalia. He would always be the crazy inventor that worked alone in his labs for days on end.

"You really love her don't you?"

Alfred looks up at him and nods mournfully as he hugs the cat to him tightly.

"More than any other woman I have ever meet before. I think she is…. Was…. The one."

Arthur nods calmly and walks over to Alfred turning his back to him exposing his wind up mechanism.

"Well then what are you waiting for you love-struck ninny? Go ahead and be quick about it, Natalia's heart is on the line here."

Alfred stares at the back of Arthurs head stunned.

"W-what?"

Arthur sighs and turns around impatiently. They didn't have much time.

"Did I not make myself clear? Take my wind up mechanism!"

"But…. You'll…."

"I'll stop working? Yes indeed I will."

Alfred stares at him slowly shaking his head.

"I-I can't do it Iggy! I need you too!"

Arthur sighs rolling his glowing eyes as his love mechanism finally clicked in. Of course now it would, his world was built on irony. A British butler who's never even been to Britain, a doll supposed to serve a boy who dies too soon, and a doll who finally knew a protective love just moments before he was to die. He stared at the young inventor and felt a deep longing to protect him and help him, as if he was his little brother perhaps.

"Listen you just need me to wake you up in the morning and make sure you wear clean clothes. You don't really need me Alfred, but you do need Natalia. I might just be gears but I know love when I see it. Now take my wind up quickly before I change my mind."

Alfred stares at him and shakes his head stubbornly.

"But… You're my friend…"

Arthur sighs looking at him and giving him a weak smile.

"I'm your butler, she is your lover. You need her more than a cranky old doll."

Alfred looks at him and sighs, obviously trying to think through this difficult decision with his logic.

"You do know that… I can't rebuild you after a certain time…. At least you wouldn't be the same; you wouldn't have the same memories. "

"I know that."

Alfred looks up at him sadly.

"Are you sure about this?

"Yes."

Alfred nods as Arthur turns around.

"Oh and Alfred?"

Alfred tilts his head up listening intently to the last words of his friend.

"Yeah Iggy?"

"Clean up in here, it looks like a pigsty. "


	5. Chapter 5

Amebel wind up 6

As was becoming a normal trend for Alfred he was once more startled out of his precious sleep by someone calling his name. But instead of it being his butler it was his determined girlfriend.

"Alfred wake up we must find my family."

Alfred nods wearily as he rubs his eyes tiredly as he looks around her room. He had apparently fallen asleep on the window seat if the crick in his back was anything to judge by. And of course the fact that he was looking straight into the eyes of a mechanical crow on the windowsill, probably a pet that had gotten loose, if that was anything to judge by as well. The bird pecked at the windowsill and Alfred sighs heavily hearing Arthurs voice ringing in his ears. ' _A crow pecking at the window is an omen of death and bad luck.'_

"Don't worry I'm on it Nat."

He ignores the bird as Arthur had always been way too superstitious and smiles happily at Natalia as he leaps up, his back popping in doing so.

"Ok so I just need something of your family's so that I can find them."

Natalia nods handing Alfred the tracker before slowly reaching up to her silver locket and carefully unlatching it, then placed it gently into Alfred's hands.

"Don't mess that up."

Alfred nods smiling at her, too tired to answer, as he lets the tracker scan the locket and it begins to beep softly.

"Don't worry as you can see it only scans it!"

After a few minutes of his anxious waiting and her stony calm waiting the beeping's increase and Alfred was free to leap up eagerly and grab her hand. He led her to the door where he grabbed his top hat.

"Come on they're getting close!"

Alfred runs out the door ignoring Alpha's mechanical mews and raced down the streets of New York gripping Natalia's hand. The beeps increased in speed and pitch until finally they were so shrill that it was making the dogs up and down the street turn their heads, even the gleaming bronze retrievers. Alfred feels Natalia tug on his hand and he stops as she slowly points up towards a tall man with what looked like a pipe walking stick and a scarf. He was closely followed by a woman with her white hair in braids twisted into a bun on the back of her head in a traditional Ukrainian style. They appeared to be looking for someone.

"Is that them?"

Natalia nods sluggishly and Alfred blinks before mentally cursing himself as he dashes to her back winding her up before she could get too low on heart ticks. Natalia perks back up immediately and runs after her family, Alfred tagging along behind her. They reach the park and Natalia finally lets out a yell, somehow managing to be reserved even while doing this.

"Big brother! Sister!"

The two white haired people stopped and turned around their eyes widening in disbelief at the sight of her. Natalia's sister was the first to react grabbing her skirts and pulling them up, even allowing her ankles to show as she raced towards Natalia and embraced her.

"Oh we have been looking all over the world for you! Where have you b-"

Her words were cut off as Alfred ran up behind Natalia and sees that her sister's hands had finally found Natalia's life source, the wind up mechanism. A heavy silence fell over the four as Natalia's brother walked over. Upon seeing the mechanism he looks at Alfred and eyes him, standing beside Natalia protectively. Finally it was Alfred who broke the heavy silence that was stifling him.

"So….My name is Alfred F Jones…. The… The uh… The inventor. Nat's told me all about you guys."

While that was a total lie he wanted to appear friendly so he gave them a wide smile even as Ivan's eyes him with distrust and Yekaternia with slight fear. The truth was that all he knew about these was really just their names and some of their story.

"Were you….Were you the one who did this to my little sister?"

Ivan eyed him as he tightened his scarf more around his neck and Natalia attempts to look over at Alfred but was being blocked by her brother. Alfred looks up at the man who was much taller and bulkier than him, so much so that Alfred up to look up to look him in the eyes.

"Y-yeah I was…. But it was to save her! Her heart gave out looking for you guys!"

Ivan nods curtly before looking back at Natalia.

"Is this true? That something was wrong with your heart?"

Natalia nods slowly and Ivan turns back to Alfred.

"I see…. Thank you for saving my sister…. But why a doll? Surely there must have been another way _comrade."_

Alfred shudders slightly and shakes his head trying to keep a smile on his face.

"This was the only way, you see I've been making plans for a cybor-"

"You're not a doctor?"

Alfred realizes his mistake and tried to backtrack too late.

"No…..But I'm an inventor as I mentioned before…"

"If you are not a doctor then why did you decide to work on my sister?"

Alfred sighs softly looking for a defensible answer.

"The doctors wouldn't take her…"

"What do you mean they wouldn't take her?"

Their "conversation" continues on, with Alfred looking out for any signs of danger, this man seemed like he could snap and attack him with that pipe at any moment. Finally he saw danger.

" _Comrade_ I don't think that you understand, my sister is now a _doll_ , people will not look at her in the same way as they might have before. She will forever be a servant…"

Alfred sets his jaw looking up at Ivan hostilely. He had had enough of this! He was only helping her, why didn't Ivan get that? Sure she was a doll but she was alive!

"Look at least I helped her! What did you do? You left her!"

The air seemed to stand still and everything seemed to stop hung in suspension. No one spoke or made a move as Alfred finally realized his mistake and takes a shaky step backwards as Ivan lowers his head, tightening his scarf around his neck.

"Oh… You must think I am a terrible brother… A terrible brother for leaving the only people in the world that I cared about and who loved me, in order to make money for food…."

Alfred takes another step back as Ivan slowly raises his head and stares at him a cold glare in his eyes.

"Do not go near my sister ever again…."

With that Ivan grabbed Natalia's and Yeketernia's hands and quickly pushes a button on his wristband which Alfred could now see as a private transporter. Alfred reaches out a frantic hand towards Natalia's outstretched one but it was too late.

Alfred stumbled forward grabbing air as he sees Natalia's face disappear as they transported to who knows where. Alfred looked around in dismay and quickly pulls out the tracker as he was still clutching onto her locket.

The machine whirred and whined, and yet they were nowhere near to him. For all Alfred knew she was back in Russia by now, or, maybe somewhere else. Alfred takes out the locket slowly and cradled it in his hands, his head lowered somberly. Finally he slipped it over his head slowly and tucked it into his shirt.

Alfred made his way back home in silence, looking down as he walked and ignoring the friendly New Yorkers who called out to him. Reaching his apartment he slowly walked up to the door and unlocked it. Alpha scrambled up to him his gears whirling as he looked for Natalia but Alfred ignored him in favor of marching dejectedly back to his lab. There he took his plans for the cyborg and ripped them to shreds silently before letting them float down to the trash can where they were instantly burned up into ash and smoke.

April 6, 1917

Alfred listens to his transmitter as he sat at his lab table, working on the tracker fervently. He had managed to get the range up to the entire country, but it wasn't enough. He still couldn't find her. The past year had been rough on the inventor; he couldn't even remember the last time that he slept in a real bed.

His lab was still neat and tidy but less could be said about his house in general. The only thing that he interacted with anymore was his cat Alpha whom he kept in perfect working condition, fearful of losing someone or even something else that was dear to him. It was late now and Alfred rubbed at his eyes wearily, ignoring Alphas frantic meows for attention. The cat lets out a puff of steam and jumps up onto the table and stands right in front of Alfred despite his noises of protests. It did this whenever Alfred was working too long without sleep or food. Arthur must have somehow taught it to act like a nanny to Alfred.

"Hey! Alpha I'm working!"

The cat hisses mechanically and nudges Alfred hand to his transmitter forcing him to pay attention to it. Alfred begrudgingly turned the volume up and listened to the broadcast. His eyes widen hearing the breaking news.

"It was announced today that the United States will be joining the European war. All available men are expected to play a part in our great nation's victory."

Alfred looks at Alpha and sighs picking him up and pets his bronze shell slowly, just listening to the broadcast and Alpha's clicks and puffs. They called the war "the war to end all wars" but all Alfred heard was the end of his search.

The western front- 1918

Alfred sighs slowly as he approaches the gleaming bronze fighter plane, attaching the straps on his leather aviator's hat. He adjusted his bronze goggles and sighs stopping just before he got into his plane to make peace with the world, as he had been informed he should. Some people called the men who fought from the air "knights of the sky's", others called them fools with a death wish. That was because a fighter pilot had a greater chance of dying up in the air than any man had on the ground in the trenches. But Alfred didn't care. Anything was better than being in a trench with the red war dolls coming at you with their gears whirling and letting out steam as they blew out gas that blinded or even suffocated men to death.

Alfred was glad for a chance to save his country, after all at least now he was talking to people, but he couldn't help but hate it as well. He hadn't been able to finish his transmitter in time, and he never had time here what with the strict rules about free time. Not to mention the fact that he had to leave Alpha with a stranger who he could only hope was treating him well and making sure his legs got oiled since he had been having issues with that when Alfred left. Alfred shakes his head clear of these disturbing thoughts and climbed into the cockpit of his plane ready for his next mission into the French wilderness to find the "lost battalion".

Natalia's POV

Natalia sighs as she walks through the snowy streets of Russia, however the snow did not affect her, only being a minor nuisance due to her gears freezing just below her skin and making her chest feel cold. A literal cold heart, the irony of that was stifling. However Natalia marches on refusing to acknowledge that irony with her sister and brother walking beside her as they began the long walk out of Russia to escape the current political turmoil.

What with this "revolution" at hand they had all thought it best to leave Russia and move back to America. At least there they did not have to worry about the fighting, and where they would live. There was another reason for this change in home however and that being Ivan had finally changed his mind. This was not an easy feat. But Natalia was persistent, very persistent, even when against such a stubborn opponent such as Ivan. After explaining the whole story it still took a year for Ivan to come around. But the days of seeing Natalia even less open and talkative than usual eventually wore on him. He did not like what Alfred had done to her, but at least she was alive. Even Ivan had to admit that he did a good of protecting her and making sure that no one insulted her. And while he would never be truly happy about Alfred dating his little sister, he could at least tolerate him.

The journey out of Russia was perilous, their main concern not being the war, but General Winter himself. They made it to New York in nineteen eighteen, just in time for the war to end and for the soldiers to be coming home to their lovers and family.

Natalia makes her way to an apartment and peers in the window. Seeing dust everywhere she pulls out a hair pin and breaks into the house. There she cleans the filthy house and waits for her Alfred to come home from what she assumed to be the war. She had instructed her sister and brother to not come with her, wanting to see Alfred alone first. She settles back into the home and waits for him in the lab where he was sure to charge up to upon entering the home for the first time in who knew how long.

Days pass.

The days turned into weeks.

There was no sign of Alfred.

Natalia winds up her gear herself and walks down the streets of New York to watch the next group of soldiers returning home. As she scanned the group of joyful reunited family's she hears a man clunking his way to her. Natalia turns around and looks at the man who had a bronze mechanical leg and was wearing the leather cap of a fighter pilot. She mentally curses, it wasn't Alfred. She was about to ignore him he sighed pulling out _her_ locket and hands it to her, speaking in a thick southern accent.

"Alfred said you would be here waiting for him miss, never doubted it for a second…. Oh and he wanted me to tell you that he kept it safe for you, just like he said he would."

The man sighs and stares into Natalia's frozen face that held no clue of the turmoil welling up inside of her.

"He died a hero you know…. He found the lost battalion but… The Germans found him as well…. He pretty much ended the war."

He looks away from her cold gaze, not being able to take it anymore.

"I'm sorry miss."

With that the wounded soldier left, limping on his new mechanical leg, leaving Natalia clutching a cold silver locket that didn't even have a nick on its gleaming surface.

1965

A doll clutches a bunch of flowers in her hand as she walked the cold path to the New York graveyard. There she carefully sets three bunches of flowers on three different graves before letting her wind up mechanism slowly tick to a close, her final tick echoing throughout the cold graveyard as the doll fell to her knees, whose eyes would be dim forever.


End file.
